I originally posted this back in February but that was a touch early for some peoples taste (haha). Take a peek at it again and you will see that there are going to be plenty of options for us before the trade deadline.

I figured I would take moment to highlight some of the 2010 free agents that could be possible trade deadline targets for our Mets. Granted, things have to play out before we would persue any of these options (like how the corner outfielders work out between Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy along with the Luis Castillo, Alex Cora 2nd base situation), but here are some of the guys teams could be looking to deal before they get nothing in return next winter.

CATCHER: I dont really see us doing anything in this area at all but anything could happen. The best of what could be available here features someone coming back from injury in the IndiansVictor Martinez. If he comes back healthy and productive though, he could be expensive and may never hit the market (as the team holds a $7 million dollar club option). There is also Bengie Molina from the Giants and he could be a more realistic team once they fall out of contention.

FIRST BASE: Nothing really worth talking about here at all. Carlos Delgado is our man. He has to stay healthy and productive because this market is just non-existant. After this season, we are either going to bring him back for another year or go in house.

SECOND BASE: We are saddled with Luis Castillo and over spent on Alex Cora as a fall back option. That said, Brian Roberts is no longer on the wish list as he has resigned with the Orioles. What we are looking at here is Placido Polanco from the Tigers and a slew of guys we passed on this winter (David Eckstein, Felipe Lopez, Adam Kennedy). This situation will have to play out before anything at all is considered a viable option but with the money owed Castillo and Omars committment to not dumping him, we have to hope he rebounds.

THIRD BASE: We will not need one for years. Moving on.

SHORTSTOP: Again, wont need one for years. Moving on.

LEFTFIELD: There is actually some nice talent to mention here. We all know about Matt Holliday but that man is going to cost alot. There is also Jason Bay but I dont see the Red Sox letting him go as they will be in contention. The Rays have Carl Crawford coming up on free agency but they have a $10 million dollar option which more than likely will get picked up. Holliday is probably the most available and desirable commodity but again, he will cost alot. How things play out with Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis and Fernando Martinez's progress, will go a long way in determining our interest here.

CENTERFIELD: Not needed. There may be some complimentary guys here that could be moved to one of the corner spots, but for the most part, none of it is any better than what we have. Moving on.

RIGHTFIELD: As I stated earlier with leftfield, how the guys we have now pans out will determine our interest but for this position we have Xavier Nady with the Yankees (no easy deal being worked out there), Vladimir Guerrero with the Angels, Bobby Abreu (who we passed on this winter), Magglio Ordonez with the Tigers, and Jermaine Dye with the White Sox. Some of these guys are getting up there in age but depending how things work out, we could use them for the dog days of summer and a post season run. Something to watch as I think some of these options could be had cheaper and easier than the leftfield options available.

STARTING PITCHER: I dont know if anything spectacular can be done here but anything is possible. Most of the cream of the crop, have club options. Brandon Webb with the Diamondbacks ($8.5 million dollar club option), Cliff Lee with the Indians ($8 million dollar option), and Josh Beckett with the Red Sox ($12 million dollar option). I think the most realistically available options could be John Lackey of the Angels. Rich Harden of the Cubs will be looking at free agency but the Cubs should contend and if he is healthy, I see no reason why they move him. Another possibility could be Erik Bedard with the Mariners depending upon how he rebounds and there is always the outside shot that the Blue Jays decide to rebuild and dump Roy Halliday. Our staffs health and productivity play into whether we are buyers in this market.

RELIEF PITCHER: While there are some decent names available here, I think the most interesting thing will be whether we decide to trade J.J. Putz before the deadline. I have a hard time seeing the team picking up an $8.6 million dollar option on an 8th inning set-up man (even though it does give us one heck of a possible 1-2 punch). He could be dangled to a team in need of a closer if we find ourselves needing to address a need of our own. Other than that, we could possibly be in the market for a left-handed reliever but who isn't?

As much as this off season has dragged and we have all debated the merits of signing one player or another, things could be much much worse in 2010. This is a rather lengthy post, but it breaks down our priority areas and the free agents that will be available in 2010 to address them. Lets start with taking a look at what's available at catcher:

Once Victor Martinez has his option picked up by the Indians (almost for certain) then what exactly will be left? A 35 year old Bengie Molina? We are beyond thin in the minors at catcher and while there are a couple I like, they aren't anything all that special and still have a lot to prove.

The situation doesn't improve either when you look to change our 2nd basemen in 2010 and we would still need to find a sucker, oops I mean taker for Luis Castillo. Take alook at whats available at that position:

Brian Roberts is it and I would be very suprised if the Orioles let him go. He will more than likely get a new contract before the season ends.. I would have liked to have had taken a shot at Felipe Lopez this season but instead, the Diamondbacks got him for 1 year at $3.5 million. Depending upon the year he has out there, he might be an option next off-season but he would have been a cheaper option had we signed him this season with an option year.

Now onto LF. Here we actually come away with a few halfway decent options but I dont know if it will matter. Maybe our Mets will be ready to feature Fernando Martinez by then but alot of that will depend on his play this season. Here is what we are looking at for LF:

Crawford will definately have his option picked up by the Rays and it wouldnt suprise me to see the A's try and sign Holliday to contract. If our Martinez isn't ready by then and Omar winds up going out to the free agent market, we could possibly be looking at Jason Bay? Another possibility could be right fielder Xavier Nady but it goes downhill from there.

This is going to be an interesting season because what becomes available next year and who we have with expiring contracts (Carlos Delgado) means we could be in for some rather ugly changes next winter. Along with us hoping Martinez is ready for left field by next year, we will be hoping that either Murphy, Evans, or Davis, are ready to man 1st base by next season. Here is whats available for 1st base next off season once Delgado is gone:

The situation looks a little better with starting pitching but alot of these guys will have their options picked up. Diamondbacks and Webb, Lee and the Indians, and Beckett with the Red Sox for sure. If we resign Perez and either Bobby Parnell or Jonathon Niese doesnt step up, we will be in the market for a SP that includes possibly John Lackey and Rich Harden just to name a couple. In any case, here is what is available at SP:

Once you take all this info in, it is easy to see that with as uninspiring as alot might think this offseason has been, at least we did bring in K-Rod and J.J. Putz. Next year could be dragged out even longer with our team having even bigger holes to fill. The platoon in LF between Tatis and Murphy will be 1 year older and possibly Tatis leaving while us needing either Murphy or Evans or possibly Ike Davis to slide in at 1st base. The 2nd base situation will still be the Luis castillo debacle. Our catching will be another year older with Schneider being a free agent and us possibly needing another SP along with having to decide what to do about Putz's $8.5 million dollar option. It is easy to see that trading during the season will become alot more important this year and that things could actually get pretty ugly next offseason.

Thanks to MLBTradeRumors.com for making this information available in one easy spot.